Church of St Joseph

The Church of St. Joseph was built , in the mid-1700s on behalf of the Confratelli Falegnami at the site where once stood the old Orthodox Church of St. Fantino.

To deal with the expenses of construction, the Confrati sold to the Congregation of Cocchieri and Staffieri their old church, located in the alley S. Anna, “St. Joseph the old” which will then be demolished.

The church stands at the center of the square on a high rectangular podium preceded on three sides by stairways. The square is surrounded by buildings belonging to different periods.

The external side of the church, surmounted by the belfry, is enriched with portals, windows and niches surrounded by decorations.

The sculptures recall the Rococo style of the time. The church has an octagonal shape with a semicircular apse where the altar is located. The back wall houses, in a niche, a copy of the Burial of St. Lucia by Caravaggio, made by the painter Mario Minniti. Rococo stucco adorn the walls.

In the floor below the front entrance there is a semi circular vaulted hypogeum. The church is currently closed to worship for restoration work.